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Carine Roitfeld

1954

By William Lee AdamsMonday, Apr. 02, 2012

Alli Harvey / Getty Images

In the January 2007 edition of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld featured 13 images of a model tied up with a curtain rod. The public on both sides of the Atlantic gasped, but Roitfeld merely yawned. "We can smoke on the cover, we can show tits," she says of being a French editor. "We have a lot of freedom that they don't have in America." Roitfeld, who edited the title for 10 years starting in 2001, earned a reputation for bold photography and an aesthetic that favored the erotic. The buzz she generated pulled Vogue Paris out of decline and pushed the magazine's circulation to an all-time high. Long considered a successor to Anna Wintour, Roitfeld unexpectedly resigned from her position at the end of 2010. A free spirit until the end, she dismissed rumors of partnerships with fashion labels as she walked out the door. "I have no plans at all," she said.